Earliest evidence for Canis familiaris on the African Continent

5th Millennium BCE

4th Millennium BCE

Extension from the lower river Nile into other Neolithic centers in Northern Africa.

Confluence of White and Blue Nile in Nubia (present day Khartoum in Sudan).

Mountainous areas in the Sahara (Magreb, Tibesti, Hoggar, Tassili).

Pre-dynastic Tesem

Two slender gaze hounds wearing collars (top right) are pursuing a hare and an antelope. This is detail from decorated pottery found near Hierakonpolis (Egypt) and dated 3,700 BCE. (Hendrickx [7], 1992)

Pre-dynastic Tesem

Hilzheimer (1926) describes and shows details from pottery associated with the Naqada 1 culture (dated ca. 3,500 BCE) and found near Hierakonpolis.

Pre-dynastic hunting scene

Tesem hunting antelope. Tomb Udumu, 1st Dynasty. (Boessneck,1988).

Pre-dynastic brachycephalic dogs

Engravings on an ivory sceptre head found in Hierakonpolis, showing a row of lions and broad-skulled dogs (Quibell [8], 1900, cited in Osborn and Osbernová, 1998)

3rd Millennium BCE

According to archaeological records, the dog progressively occupied the present day Sahel zone.

Its moving frontier then stopped for about 1,000 years.

The Equatorial Forest may have obstructed further migration of Stone Age herdsmen.

4th Millennium BCE: Dogs of Ancient Egypt

Neolithic communities along the lower river Nile joined forces and laid the foundations for the Old Kingdom . The first Pharaoh came to rule in 3,250 BCE. By that time the dog had moved beyond the borders of present day Egypt.

Multiple artistic expressions provide proof that during the successive reigns of the Pharaohs, the aristocracy was in a position to breed dogs selectively.

Artworks indicate that the commoners raised dogs for utilitarian purposes.

Numerous embalmed dogs have been found, indicating that this animal was integral to Ancient Egyptian mythology.

Dogs of the Ancient Egyptian Aristocracy

A sight hound (Tesem) with hanging ears followed by an achondroplastic bitch with pricked ears. Tomb of Sarenput 1., early 12. dynasty (Boessneck, 1988)

The Southern Tip of Africa

800 CE - Cape St. Francis (Chappel, 1968). This was a Khoisan site suggesting that the Early Iron Age Bantu speakers had made contact with the local population

The Enigma of the Historical Khoikhoi Dog

During the Stone Age, Khoikhoi herders reached the most southern tip of Africa by the beginning of the CE.
However, only remains of sheep dating that far back have been found at these sites. Remains of the dog only date back from 800 CE onward, once the Bantu people arrived.

Contact with Western Civilization

Portuguese explorers cast anchor at St. Helena Bay in late 1497. Vasco da Gama’s diary refers to the Khoikhoi and domestic dogs in southern Africa: "They have many dogs like those of Portugal which bark as do these."

A Khoikhoi family preparing for travel. Painting by Daniell (1804). (Transvaal Museum Library)

Early Ethnographers

Khoikhoi family in the early 1700’s Artist unknown. S.A. Library.

Theal writing on conditions in Southern Africa before 1505, describing the cattle, sheep and dogs of the Khoisan people:

"The only other domestic animal was the dog. He was an ugly creature, his body being shaped like that of a jackal, and the hair on his spine being turned forward; but he was a faithful, serviceable animal of his kind"

2. Savolainen

3. Canis Familiaris

"AfriCanis" combines Africa (the continent) and the genus Canis (the Latin name for dog). As such it is the umbrella name for ALL sub-equatorial African Aboriginal Dogs.

Genus Canis: Class - Mammalia, Order - Carnivora, Family – Canidae

In total there are 38 species classified in the family of Canidae. Next to the genus Canis there are other genera including all the foxes, the Dhole of East- and Central Asia , the various Zorros of South America and other wild canidae found in various parts of the world. The following are the 8 species constituting the genus Canis. They all have the same number of chromosomes (2-n = 78) and hybridisation resulting in fertile offspring has been recorded.

(Lycaon pictus - the Cape hunting dog - belongs to the family of Canidae but NOT to the genus Canis).

Genus Canis

Canis lupus: wolf (Europe, Asia, N.America, Arctic)

Canis familiaris: domestic dog (worldwide)

Canis aureus: golden jackal (SE. Europe, N. Africa, SE. Asia)

Canis mesomelas: black-backed jackal (Africa south of the Sahara)

Canis adustus: side-striped jackal (Africa south of the Sahara)

Canis latrans: coyote (N. America)

Canis rufus: red wolf (Central N. America)

Canis simensis: Simien wolf (mountains of Ethiopia)

Canis familiaris - The domestic dog

We don't know where and when precisely the transition from wild to domestic canis took place.. Most authors agree that the wolf is the closest wild relative. Recent publications point at the Far East as region of origin for the dog. A date of approximately 14,000 years BCE is suggested with real house bonding to be associated with the earliest Mesolithic villages roughly 10,000 years ago. From its cradle of origin the domestic dog spread all over the world in the company of nomadic or migrating Homo sapiens (modern man). In this process and in respect of natural selection and ecological adaptation humankind evolved into a variety of geographical races. The same applied to its dogs. Back

4 . Davis & Valla

Davis, S. & Valla, F. (1978) Evidence for domestication of the dog 12.000 years ago in the Natufian of Israel. Nature 276, 5688:608-610. Back